For this edition, instead of general news, I’m rounding up the Twin Cities bookstores participating in Independent Bookstore Day, which is coming up on April 30, 2016! For more, follow @BookstoreDay and #BookstoreDay on Twitter or check out IBD on Facebook.

Minneapolis

Birchbark Books and Native Arts is hosting events all day, including refreshments, prizes, kids’ activities, and appearances by Louise and Heid Erdrich (Louise being the owner of Birchbark), R.T. Rybak, Beth Dooley, and Isabella and Tom LaBlanc.

Magers & Quinn in Uptown will host Michelle Leon, founding member of influential Minneapolis punk trio Babes in Toyland and the author of the memoir I Live Inside, starting at 7:00 p.m. The store writes: “Leon’s sensitive, sensory prose puts readers right on stage with Babes in Toyland while also conveying the uncertainty, vulnerability, and courage needed by a girl who never felt like she fit in to somehow find her place in the world.” More information is available on the Magers & Quinn events page (scroll down).

St. Paul

At Common Good Books in Mac-Grove, Minnesota author Kate DiCamillo (The Tale of Desperaux, Flora and Ulysses) will read from her latest book, Raymie Nightingale, and hold an “informal conversation” about writing from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. followed by an official kickoff for Independent Bookstore Day at 10:00 a.m. The 9:00 a.m. event is ticketed.

Red Balloon Bookshop on Grand Avenue will host tons of kid-friendly activities all day, including face painting and a literary costume contest.

SubText Books in downtown St. Paul will have coffee and donuts in the morning, live music, and “exclusive Independent Bookstore Day products including signed Werner Herzog broadsides, a (!!!!) Neil Gaiman coloring book (!!!!), and more.” Click here for full details.

Outside the Twin Cities Area

Beagle and Wolf Books and Bindery in Park Rapids will give away a free book with every purchase and host a signing by Lou Schultz, treats, and music. Independent Bookstore Day also happens to coincide with the store’s anniversary.

Content Bookstore in Northfield will have music, food, an open mic, and “merchandise for lovers of Anthony Bourdain, Mo Willems, Fran Lebowitz, Neil Gaiman, and many more” from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Paperbacks and Pieces in Winona will celebrate Independent Bookstore Day with local author appearances and book signings, a Color-Inn from 10:00 a.m. to noon, a Duck & Goose party for kids ages 3–7 at 10:30 a.m., May Day Basket making from noon to 2:00 p.m., a Scotch-tasting with food-pairing event from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. (pre-purchased ticket required), a Shakespearean Tragedy Language Test, and an Independent Bookstore Day Tattoo Chain.

Valley Bookseller in Stillwater will have “unique merchandise, refreshments, gift card drawings and more!” Keep an eye on the event page for more details. Stillwater is also home to Black Letter Books.